1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric rotary shaver and more particularly to an electric rotary shaver that has a washable cutter head.
2. Prior Art
In one type of electric shaver, a cutter head, which includes an outer cutter and an inner cutter, and a shaving debris accommodating section, which is inside the cutter head, are provided so that the cutter head and the shaving debris accommodating section can be cleaned or washed using a water rinse or cleaning liquid.
Such washable electric shaver is disclosed in, for instance, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (Kokai) Nos. 7-124347, 9-122363 and 2001-198367.
There are substantially two methods for washing electric shavers. In one method, the cutter head is removed from the main body of the electric shaver, and washing is performed with its power turned off. In another method, washing is performed with the cutter head mounted on the main body of the shaver and the power is turned on.
When washing is performed with the cutter head removed from the main body of the electric shaver, shaving debris is rinsed away using flowing water or the like. However, when washing is performed with the cutter head mounted on the main body of the electric shaver, it is necessary to perform washing in a state in which the discharge of shaving debris to the outside of the cutter head can be done easily.
FIG. 5 shows one example of an electric rotary shaver that has three rotary cutters.
In this shaver, a cutter cradle 12 is provided inside upper portion of the main body 10 of the shaver, and a cutter head 20 is detachably mounted on the cutter cradle 12.
The cutter cradle 12 is in a recessed shape so as to accommodate shaving debris. Three drive shafts 14 that drive or rotate three inner cutters are disposed so that these drive shafts protrude from the inside bottom surface of the cutter cradle 12. The cutter head 12 includes three outer cutters 22 and three inner cutters (not shown) that respectively make sliding contact with the outer cutters. The drive shafts 14 that protrude from the bottom of the cutter cradle 12 respectively engage with the inner cutters when the cutter head 20 is mounted on the main body 10, and these drive shafts 14 rotationally drive the inner cutters when the power of the electric shaver is turned on.
Accordingly, when washing is performed with the cutter head 20 removed from the main body 10, shaving debris that has accumulated in the cutter cradle 12 can easily be discharged and washed away by removing the cutter head 20 from the main body 10 of the electric shaver as shown in FIG. 5.
FIG. 6 shows the manner of washing the electric shaver with the cutter head on and while the power is on.
The reference numeral 50 is a cleaning vessel filled with a cleaning liquid 52. The cutter head 20 is set to face down and is immersed in the cleaning liquid in the cleaning vessel 50; then, the shaver is switched on and cleaning is performed while the electric shaver is being driven.
The space between the inside bottom of the cutter cradle 12 and the cutter head 20 constitutes a space that accommodates shaving debris. As a result of the action of the flow of cleaning liquid that is generated by the rotation of the inner cutters 23 and drive shafts 14, the shaving debris that has been in this space is discharged into the cleaning vessel 50 via slit-form openings (or hair introducing apertures) formed in the outer cutters 22.
However, as seen from FIG. 6, when the washing is performed by rotating the inner cutters 23 in the cleaning liquid 52 in the cleaning vessel 50, though the inner cutters 23 and the areas near the inner cutters 23 can be washed by agitating the cleaning liquid 52 in the vicinity of the inner cutters 23, shaving debris cannot be effectively discharged to the outside of the space in which such shaving debris accommodates. Accordingly, after the cutter head 20 has been cleaned in the cleaning vessel 50, it is further necessary to remove the cutter head 20 from the main body 10 and clean the cutter cradle 12 and other parts using a brush or the like.